In Canada I challenge all my artists to seek.... With Brett, I say you can play in the CFL or—no offence—you can play in the NFL. In Canada we live beside a big cultural industry called the United States, and it's very hard to overcome and compete with it.
Just by comparison, with Brett we've had three consecutive top 10s. We might spend $10,000 per top 10, whereas in the United States it would cost $1 million to get into the top 10. The amount of money the Americans are throwing at the game or putting into the process is significantly higher. It's the same thing with the NFL versus the CFL.
My goal for Brett and all our artists.... If they want to reach the international level, we just don't have the wherewithal within Canada to fund that sort of process. Organizations such as FACTOR and Radio Starmaker kick in the difference, not the full balance, but enough that we can compete at that level, and for me that's significant. As a manager, I've also been able to tap into FACTOR. It's not just Brett himself. It's not a hockey player who does it all himself; there's a coach, there's a training staff, there's a whole organization. I'm part of that and I benefit from FACTOR as well.